Saturday Matinee: Niagra with Marilyn Monroe

"Ray and Polly Cutler (Max Showalter and Jean Peters) on a delayed honeymoon at Niagara Falls, find their reserved cabin occupied by George and Rose Loomis (Joseph Cotten and Marilyn Monroe). They politely accept another, less-desirable cabin, and the two couples become acquainted.
George and Rose have a troubled marriage. She is younger and very attractive. He is jealous, depressed and irritable. It is implied that he may have recently been discharged from an Army mental hospital. While touring the falls the following day, Polly sees Rose passionately kissing a man, Patrick. That evening the Cutlers witness George's rage. Rose joins an impromptu party and George storms out and breaks a record playing a tune that he suspects has a secret meaning for Rose.
What George does not know is that Rose is planning his murder. The next day she lures him into following her to the dark tourist tunnel underneath the Falls. There Patrick is to kill him. Patrick is to request the nearby carillon to play the special song to let Rose know that George is dead. By chance, the tune is played and Rose concludes George is murdered...." from Wikipedia  There is more to this synopsis of plot but I do not want to spoil the movie...I want you to watch it and enjoy the plot twists.

from This is Marilyn

My Mawma got this movie for us to watch as soon as it was available on VHS.  I loved it at first showing.  Marilyn, of course, oozed sex but her acting was...well...I do not think many love her for her acting.  her first scene opened with her in bed, nude, with legs sprawled under the sheets.  Hair messy, smoking...but with perfect red lips.  Sexy.

The costumes were glorious.  Marilyn wore many tight "wiggle" skirted suits and dresses while Mrs. Cutlers wears clothing of a "sweeter" nature, loose fitting circle skirts.  The men were dressed in loose pleated pants and cabana shirts, things they might wear on vacation.  There were a few scenes where Mr. Cutler would have on a suit or jacket and tie, but most of the time the costumes reflected a relaxed style of vacation wear.  They were in Niagara Falls, afterall.

I searched and could not find any photos of the gentlemen in this film, except for one with Rose's lover in a parka and then one with George in a loose jacket.  Not very exciting.  Most of the photos, as you can see, are of Marilyn.  Not surprised in the least at this.  Photos from Yahoo! Images

I enjoy this film, mostly for the costumes, scenery, and Marilyn.  I enjoy her in this because she is not playing a dumb blonde.  I enjoy THAT, too, but it gets old (as it got old for HER playing the dumb blonde if biographies I have read were accurate).

Here is some fun trivia for you...

Rose (Marilyn Monroe)'s walk across some cobblestones holds the record for the longest walk in cinema history - 116 feet of film.

Even though she had a starring role, Marilyn Monroe was still under contract to 20th Century-Fox as a stock actor at a fixed salary, so she actually made less money than her make-up man did.

To see this and more trivia, go to the Internet Movie Database, but be warned there are plot spoilers.

Tiffany

Mon Oncle (1958): Great example of consumerism, gadgetry, and the next great "thing"

model of Villa Arpel

M. Hulot (Jacques Tati) is the dreamy, impractical, and adored uncle of young Gérard (nine years old), who lives with his materialistic parents in an ultra-modern geometric house and garden (Villa Arpel) in a new suburb of Paris, situated just beyond the crumbling stone buildings of the old neighborhoods of the city. Gérard's parents, M. and Mme. Arpel, are firmly entrenched in a machine-like existence of work, fixed gender roles, and the acquisition of status through possessions and conspicuous display. (A running gag involves a fish-shaped fountain at the center of the Arpels' garden that Mme. Arpel turns on only for important visitors).
Each element of Villa Arpel is representational rather than functional, an environment completely hostile to the comfort of its occupants. In choosing modern architecture to punctuate his satire, Tati once stated, "Les lignes géométriques ne rendent pas les gens aimables" ("geometrical lines do not produce likeable people"). ^{from Wikipedia} From pas japonais, stepping stones,  positioned like mine fields, weird, hardly comfortable furniture and a kitchen with booby trap-esque controls and appliances,  Villa Arpel emphasises the supremacy of superficial aesthetics and electrical gadgets over the reality of daily living.  All this to impress those who work FOR M. Arpel and the neighbors (who live in smaller, less impressive homes).  The Arpels were huge show off to those who did not "have" and looked down their nose to the less ambitious uncle (who never was honored with the fish fountain being turned on).

Looks like the this guest deserves the honor of the fish fountain being turned on.

The Arpels might have been ridiculous, stuck up, and all around pretentious but this film is worth checking out.  The set design was so much a part of the film that one might not notice the entire dialogue is in French.  A few scenes come to mind when hardly a word was spoken, other than mumbles and rambling.

The uncle in the booby trap of a kitchen

Mme. Arpel has a special garage door installed for M. Arpel's anniversary gift.  The door opens and closes automatically when the sensor is set off.  Mme. gets locked in the garage when the dog walks in front of the sensor, with his tail UP.  Meanwhile M. Arpel comes home, walks in front of the sensor, opens the door.  Both walk back into the garage marvelling at the gift.  Dog walks back in front of sensor, door closes, locking BOTH inside.  They yell and make all kind of noise, trying to get the dog to walk in front of the sensor, again, to let them out.  Does not work because now the dog's tail is DOWN and he is not tall enough to set the sensor off.  Maid hears the commotion and FREAKS out.  She will NOT help them as she is scared to death of all the modern contraptions around the villa and thinks if she walks in front of the sensor devastation will happen. I know I am not doing the scene justice, you must watch it to get the humour and enjoy it yourself.  There are several other scenes, few involving the glorious fish fountain, that command little dialogue, I will not butcher them.

 
There are subtitles, although not many, as there is not that much dialogue.  It is a very physical and scenic movie, not much dialogue is needed to tell the story.  Please do not let it being a foreign film turn you off. I highly recommend this film if only to see the Villa.

Mme.  Showing off to the neighbor.

M. Arpel "relaxing" in the courtyard of the villa.

Tiffany

Gentlemen Prefere Blondes....but I enjoyed the brunette . RIP Jane Russell

The beautiful and talented Jane Russell passed away on Monday at age 89.  She was sexy, smart, and wildly entertaining.  In Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, she played opposite Marilyn Monroe, my all time favorite lady of the 1950s, but I enjoyed Jane in the film much more that the Blonde Bombshell.

Ms. Russell shot to fame as the sexy star of Howard Hughes' 1941 Western, The Outlaw. "Hughes, the eccentric billionaire, put her onto the path to stardom when he cast her in "The Outlaw," a film he fought with censors for nearly a decade to get into wide release. With her sultry look and glowing sexuality, Russell became a star before she was ever seen by a wide movie audience. The Hughes publicity mill ground out photos of the beauty in low-cut costumes and swim suits, and she became famous, especially as a pinup for World War II GIs" from ABC News

She was in a number of movies during her acting career.  The two I like best are Macao (1952) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).  I am not going to do a movie review on either this morning, we will save that for a Saturday Matinee Review.  What I would rather do is remember Jane Russell in photos.  She was a great example of not just a 1950s beauty, but a timeless beauty.

Sexy.

What vintage loving woman would not enjoy this dress?

Ms. Russell said "I'm going to die in the saddle, I'm not going to sit at home and become an old woman" Associated Press

I especially like this photo.  She looks so natural, unmade-up.  Beautiful.

Jane Russell was also known as an advocate for children.  "During the 1950's, actress Jane Russell began a mission which has resulted in the adoptive placement of nearly 38,000 children through her organization, WAIF.

Working on behalf of the 300,000 American children living in foster care and institutions, WAIF operates national advocacy, public and professional education programs. Locally, WAIF sponsors adoption recruitment events for children who are older, handicapped or of a minority race.

Jane Russell knows that every child, every waif, has the right to a permanent and loving family. For over 30 years, Miss Russell has turned the extraordinary publicity of her acting career to focus on the plight of homeless children. She devotes her heart and soul to see to the placement of children in a loving home.

Miss Russell championed the passage of the Federal Orphan Adoption Amendment of 1953, which allowed, for the first time, children of American servicemen born overseas to be placed for adoption in the United States The ensuing years have allowed single parents to adopt, for children to be moved across state lines for adoptive placement, and most recently, the implementation of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act which mandates the reform of the adoption and foster care system in all 50 states.

Since 1981, Jane Russell has testified before the US. Congress and met with over 150 Senators and Representatives, as well as with President George Bush. In addition, her appeals have appeared in thousands of newspapers and magazines, and she has appeared on all TV network news programs and scores of television interview shows. ALL FOR THE CHILDREN WHO NEED A CHAMPION.

Jane Russell is truly leaving, for thousands, her successful living legacy" from The Women's International Center.

Saturday Matinee in honor of Elizabeth Taylor: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

photo from IMDb

In honor of Ms. Taylor AND Tennesee Williams because I LOVE LOVE LOVE him, too....oh and Paul Newman isn't so bad, either. "Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son." From IMDb

This is another of my favorites.  I know I say that alot but I do love this era of films, costumes, etc.  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof does not disappoint in either.  I am also a HUGE fan of Tennessee Williams.  His work was almost an obsession of mine during college when I studied Theatre.  I was in A Streetcar Named Desire
, more on that when I do a review. I designed costumes for A Streetcar Named Desire
, as well.  I did many scene studies of his work and set design of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
.

Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman do an amazing portrayal of Maggie and Brick.  Burl Ives plays Big Daddy wonderfully while Judith Anderson plays Big Momma in an extremely annoying way, but I think that is the character, not the actress.  "Although the film did not win any Academy Awards, it received several nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor (Newman), Best Actress (Taylor), and Best Director (Brooks). The film also received nominations for Best Cinematography, Color (William Daniels), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium" from Wikipedia.  This makes me wonder WHAT won that year....so of course I looked it up on Wikipedia.  Well "Gigi" won best picture and a host of other awards, breaking "Gone With the Wind's" record, but only for one year because a year late Ben Hur winds even more.  Best Actress that year went to Susan Hayward in "I Want to Live", which is a movie I LOVE and have since I was a little girl (why my mom let me watch it at a young age, I do not know...). Anyway....it did not WIN any awards but that does not mean it is not a good movie....

Paul Newman is a hottie....

 There is usually a scene where the female lead wears a slip in Williams plays and Elizabeth Taylor does it very well...

Burl Ives as Big Daddy Pollitt

Even in Black and White here eyes are mesmerising

 If you are a fan of Taylor, Newman, Ives, or Tennessee William's plays....or maybe you just like good mid century movies with stylish costumes...this is a must see movie.

Tiffany

Photos from Yahoo! images.  Video clip from Youtube.

Butterfield 8

One of my most favorite Elizabeth Taylor movies in Butterfield 8.  She plays a disturbed woman who is employed as a model so the costumes are amazing.  Lots of pretty dresses she must wear around town to be photographed in.  Even her "down time" outfits are amazing....and of course she appears in that gorgeous slip and mink coat.  I enjoy the story very much, too, but I do not know what makes me watch this more, the costumes or the story....or Elizabeth Taylor.  Laurence Harvey stars in Butterfield 8, as well, and even though he is very handsome and I enjoy looking at him, his caracter really gets on my ever last nerve.

BUtterfield 8 was named for a list of old Manhattan telephone prefixes that was used to place calls in NYC up until the 1960’s.  Gloria Wonderous, Taylor's character, gave Mr. Ligget a gift of a lighter with BU 8 in-graved into the side so he would always have her number. Gloria would call in to get her messages.  It seems to be like an answering service, as well.  Since I was not alive during the time such prefixes were used, I have no experience with them except for hearing them in movies and older television programs.

The film was based on a 1935 novel, BUtterfield 8 , written by John O’Hara, however there was,  little resemblance of the book in the film.  I read the book after I saw the movie, years later, in fact, and can honestly say that there was not much similarity, although I enjoyed both.

"Gloria Wandrous (Elizabeth Taylor) wakes up in wealthy executive Weston Liggett's (Laurence Harvey) apartment and finds Liggett has left her $250. Insulted, Gloria, whose dress is torn, takes Liggett's wife Emily's mink coat to cover herself and scrawls "No Sale" in lipstick on the mirror. But she orders her telephone exchange, BUtterfield 8, to put Liggett through if he should call.
Gloria visits a childhood friend, pianist Steve Carpenter (Eddie Fisher), in his Greenwich Village apartment. He chastises Gloria for wasting her life on one-night stands, but agrees to ask his girlfriend Norma (Susan Oliver) to lend her a dress. Gloria leaves, whereupon Norma jealously gives Steve an ultimatum: He must choose between her and Gloria.
Liggett takes a train to the countryside where his wife Emily (Dina Merrill) is caring for her mother. A friend, Bingham Smith (Jeffrey Lynn), advises him to end his adulterous relationships and return to Bing's law firm instead of working for the chemical business of Emily's father.
Gloria lies to her doting mother Annie (Mildred Dunnock), claiming to have spent the night at Norma's. A neighbor, Fanny Thurber (Betty Field), insinuates that Gloria spends many nights in less than virtuous circumstances.
Liggett returns home. Finding the lipstick and money, he phones Gloria to explain the money was meant for her dress, which he had torn." from Wikipedia.  This explanation softens Ms. Wonderous, a bit, and she says she MIGHT be in the area where Ligget will be later that night. As usual, I will not spoil the movie and let you watch to see what happens....trust me in saying this is not a movie to be missed if you enjoy mid century fashions or seeing Elizabeth Taylor in prime form.

She throws this beautiful coat back in the closet and takes the mink instead.

from IMDb

One thing the movie sorta, kinda glosses over is the fact that Gloria was part call girl.  "John O'Hara's 1935 novel BUtterfield 8 was based on the life and death of a real-life call girl named Starr Faithfull." From Turner Classic Movies .  Sure, Ligget leaves her money and Gloria is offended, he later offers her an apartment and allowances to live to be his mistress, she stabs his foot with her stiletto....but in the movie she is just a slut, nympho, and alcoholic.  This was much more proper for the Production Code of 1959 /1960.  The same thing was done with Breakfast at Tiffany's.  Holly Golightly was a high priced (for the time) call girl in the book while in the movie she was a model who met up with men in night clubs.  The men gave her money for the powder room, usually 50 dollars (!!!!), I assume to tip the matron (?) and she pocketed the change.  Maybe I have a weird opinion of this subject but I do not see why being a nympho, slut, loose woman, and alcoholic is so much better than earning a living with what these ladies where going to do anyway?  I could write and write on this subject (and have in other venues) but this blog is not the place for my soap box on this subject.

She brushes her teeth with the scotch in her glass.

 Reminds me of the Kesha song, Tik Tok

Butterfield 8 is highly recommended by me and I will watch it again and again.  To tie this into the Oscars here are the awards it won and was nominated for...
"It won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Elizabeth Taylor) and was nominated for Best Cinematography, Color for 1960. It was also nominated for the Best Actress - Drama Golden Globe Award for the same year's releases." from Wikipedia

from Apartment Therapy (huh? odd where one might find photos)

 Tiffany

Happy Birthday Dear Elizabeth....And Get Well Soon!!!!

photo from ET Online

Elizabeth Taylor, as I am sure you know, has been hospitalised "for treatment of congestive heart failure, a condition she disclosed she had back in November 2004...She was admitted to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center more than a week ago and will remain in the hospital under observation "for the time being," declared Taylor's publicist, Jamie Cadwell, this past Friday, Feb. 18, 2011.
According to her spokeswoman, Sally Morrison, Taylor, "has continued to show great improvement, and her family and friends are very pleased with her progress" from CBS News.  I wish her a speedy recovery and would like to honor her upcoming birthday (February 27th) with a blog post dedicated to her as part of my celebration of the Oscars.

photo from Yahoo! Images

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born in Hampstead, a wealthy district of North West London, on February 27, 1932.  Shortly before WWII, her family decided to move to California to avoid war hostilities in Europe.  The Taylors were shortly introduced to " Andrea Berens, a wealthy English socialite and also fiancée of Cheever Cowden, chairman and major stockholder of Universal Pictures in Hollywood. Berens insisted that Sara bring Elizabeth to see Cowden who, she was adamant, would be dazzled by Elizabeth's breathtaking dark beauty; she was born with a mutation that caused double rows of eyelashes, which enhanced her appearance on camera. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer soon took interest in the British youngster as well but she failed to secure a contract with them after an informal audition with producer John Considine had shown that she couldn't sing. However, on 18 September 1941, Universal Pictures signed Elizabeth to a six-month renewable contract at $100 a week" from Wikepedia.

Her first motion picture, at the age of nine, was There's One Born Every Minute. And although she was released from her contract with Universal because some thought "She can't sing, she can't dance, she can't perform. What's more, her mother has to be one of the most unbearable women it has been my displeasure to meet" Liz:An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor, by C. David Heymann. This did not slow her career down as her agent,  Myron Selznick (brother of David), quickly secured a contract for her at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a three month contract to appear as "Priscilla" in the film Lassie Come Home. Elizabeth  was in many films durring her childhood but it was her film National Velvet that launched Taylor to stardom at the tender age of 12.

After the success of National Velvet and a few more films Elizabeth was able to demand a contract earning her $750 per week, her mother $250, as well as a $1,500 bonus.  Through the years, her salary and contract grew with her film success and she went on to star in many many box office hits.  So many in fact that if I highlighted every one of them....this blog would only be about Elizabeth Taylor and could become a FULL TIME hobby.  She also married a few men during her career.  Both of these, I will leave you to explore on your own with a quick Google or Yahoo! search.  Instead I am going to do a few blog posts in the next few days about MY favorite Elizabeth Taylor movies.  I hope you stay tuned and help honor her Birthday with me by reading about these films and hopefully I can inspire you to watch or re-watch a few. 

So in honor of the great Dame Elizabeth Taylor ( DBE ) and to wish her a speedy recovery, very happy birthday and to just show everyone how beautiful and wonderful she is...I leave you with a few of my favorite Liz images...

Still beautiful in her golden years.

Tiffany

Saturday Matinee: Room at the Top (1959)

With lips still warm from another woman's flesh...I thee wed...

"In late 1940s Yorkshire, England, ambitious young man Joe Lampton (Laurence Harvey), who has just moved from the dreary factory town of Dufton, arrives in Warnley, to assume a secure, but poorly-paid, post in the Borough Treasurer's Department. Determined to succeed, and ignoring the warnings of a colleague, Soames (Donald Houston), he is drawn to Susan Brown (Heather Sears), daughter of the local industrial magnate, Mr. Brown (Donald Wolfit). He deals with Joe’s social climbing by sending Susan abroad; Joe turns for solace to Alice Aisgill (Simone Signoret), an unhappily married older woman who falls in love with him.
When Susan returns from her holiday, shortly after the lovers have quarrelled, Joe seduces her, and then returns to Alice. Discovering that Susan is pregnant...."from the internet movie database  (I left some of the plot synopsis out to keep from spoiling the movie for others.  I do not know why IMDb has to tell so much....)

This film is loaded with Oscar Nominations.  The Best Actress Nom (and win) was well deserved by the beautiful Simone Signoret.  She plays a lonely wealthy housewife, Alice Aisgill, often left alone by her traveling husband.   



Nominated for Best Supporting Actress was Hermione Baddeley as Elspeth , who only had  "2 minutes and 20 seconds of screen time", the shortest ever for a nomination.  Wikipedia   She did not win but did go on for a long career as an actress.  You might better remember her for her roles on Little House on the Prairie or as the "hard drinking housekeeper" on Maude, but I remember her as Samantha Stevens childhood Nanny in her recurring role on Bewitched.  She is one, when you see other roles she played, you might say "oh, yea...that WAS her".  To see these roles, go over to her Wikipedia page.

For the first half of the film, I just could not place who was playing "Joe Lampton".  It was driving me nuts who this handsome and debonair man might be.  I knew I have seen him in many classics, but just could not place him.  AHA!!!!!  He played Westin Ligget, Gloria Wonderous's married lover!!!! (I love LOVE L O V E Butterfield 8, by the way...more to come on this, I am sure, in a future post...).  For now, he is playing Joe Lampton and doing a very good job at it.  He was nominated for this role for a Best Actor Oscar, but, like Ms. Baddeley, was passed over (I must look up who did win this year and watch their performance because for him to win over Laurence Harvey, he must have been day'um good).  Oh, didn't I tell you who I was talking about? Laurence Harvey, my new crush.  He is yummy.

Of course, Mr. Harvey was in many many more films, which you can read all about at the Internet Movie Database.

Even though Saturday Matinees SHOULD be comedies, in my opinion, I really enjoyed this movie.  It was dark, sexy, and sad.  Perfect for this dreary Texas afternoon ~sarcastic smile~.  The film told of the constant battle between classes with Joe wishing to climb the social ladder and Mr.  Brown keeping him down.  The characters included the usual old snob haggy woman (Mrs.Brown) thinking she is better than everyone else and others trying to keep Joe down.  Joe was not a good man, said he loved Susan while sleeping with Alice, but Laurence Harvey played him well.  The atmosphere of the industrial town added to the darkness of the film, as well.

A bit of trivia, for ya, (found at the IMDb), initially no British cinema chains wanted to touch the film as the British Board of Film Classification had given it an X certificate, then usually synonymous with exploitation fare. Eventually the ABC chain took a chance and picked it up for distribution, scoring a huge critical and commercial hit in the process. Many changes had to be made before the film was released, "

Before passing the film with an 'X' certificate the BBFC required some dialogue changes. The word "bitch' was changed to 'witch', and 'Don't waste your lust on her' was changed to the tamer 'Don't lust after her'."  There were also other edits but talking about these would give away too much of the movie...and I do not wish to be a "Spoiler", but you can see them at the IMDb website.

Another interesting fact, "the story takes place in 1947, but all the women's fashions and hairstyles are strictly in the contemporary 1958 mode, when the film went before the cameras" from IMDb  To be very honest, I did not realise the movie was supposed to be set in the late '40s, just after WWII.  I thought it odd that they kept referring to the war so long after it was over and that the "Sargent" (what a man teased Joe as being" was so young looking. (BLONDE moment, I guess)

If you have not seen Room at the Top, I recommend it. 

Tiffany